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Space

New Molecule Could Lead To Better Rocket Fuel->

Submitted by MithrandirAgain
MithrandirAgain writes "Trinitramid is the name of the new molecule that may be a component in future rocket fuel. This fuel could be 20 to 30 percent more efficient in comparison with the best rocket fuels available today, according to researchers. The discovery was made at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden.

"A rule of thumb is that for every ten-percent increase in efficiency for rocket fuel, the payload of the rocket can double. What's more, the molecule consists only of nitrogen and oxygen, which would make the rocket fuel environmentally friendly. This is more than can be said of today's solid rocket fuels, which entail the emission of the equivalent of 550 tons of concentrated hydrochloric acid for each launch of the space shuttle," says Tore Brinck, professor of physical chemistry at KTH."
Link to Original Source

Comment: Re:Vertical Space (Score 2) 174

by gtwreck (#34507392) Attached to: Equipping a Small Hackerspace?

We have had good success with retail "slat-wall" mounted on the walls all the way to the ceiling above our workbenches. It can support a lot of weight and there are a lot of ways to attach shelving or mount equipment using widely available brackets. And it will not deteriorate over time like pegboard. Also, it's attractive, which will help make your space look clean to passers by.

Also, have them give you lots of network and power drops spread around the room, you will constantly run out. Attach a lot of power strips to your furniture, etc.

You may want your own physical network separate from the rest of the building as well.

PlayStation (Games)

US Air Force Buying Another 2,200 PS3s 144

Posted by Soulskill
from the quick-who-knows-a-good-ps3-flight-sim dept.
bleedingpegasus sends word that the US Air Force will be grabbing up 2,200 new PlayStation 3 consoles for research into supercomputing. They already have a cluster made from 336 of the old-style (non-Slim) consoles, which they've used for a variety of purposes, including "processing multiple radar images into higher resolution composite images (known as synthetic aperture radar image formation), high-def video processing, and 'neuromorphic computing.'" According to the Justification Review Document (DOC), "Once the hardware configuration is implemented, software code will be developed in-house for cluster implementation utilizing a Linux-based operating software."
Communications

Verizon unilaterally cutting of VoIP services

Submitted by poffenvis
poffenvis writes "One of my customers has turned me onto a new policy change by Verizon on their Broadband service, that allows Verizon to unilaterally terminate your Broadband service for the sin of changing your telephone service to either a Wireless or Internet Telephone Service Provider (VoIP service).

They have given themselves the option to either 1) continue with your current service without allowing you access to the broadband telephone service or 2) they can terminate your agreement AND charge you an early termination fee!

The new agreement can be found on this page: http://netservices.verizon.net/portal/link/main/announcement?linkflag=guestonly_noregion&id=TOS_071120

The relevant section is 8.3:

"8.3 Changes to your local voice telephony service. If you change your local telephone company, or move your local telephone service to a wireless or Internet telephony service provider, we may in our discretion either terminate your Service or continue to provide Broadband without local service at the then-current rates, terms and conditions applicable to your new Service arrangement. You agree to pay any higher monthly fee that may apply to your new Service arrangement. Please see Section 12.2 for additional terms relating to price changes. If we elect to terminate your Service under this Section 8.3, then we reserve the right to charge any early termination fees that may apply, and you will be required to return any Equipment you received at no charge from Verizon or an Equipment fee will apply"

Verizon is pulling a play from the Microsoft strategy book ("cut off their oxygen") on VoIP and VoIP providers.

I have no idea if this is legal (IANAL), I'm guessing it will be challenged in court one of these days. But if this spreads, are all service providers going to be 'cutting off the oxygen' of VoIP by simply not allowing that service to run on their systems?

I sense 'evil empire' in this move..."
Television

Banned colors on the screen->

Submitted by A little Frenchie
A little Frenchie writes "Deutsche Telekom and Red Bull have deposited the color magenta, and the combination blue-argent as trademarks, banning their unauthorized use in the United States and Europe. The German company Deutsche Telekom declared that the color magenta is an integral part of its logo, prohibiting anyone from using it without his permission, even on a computer screen. Meanwhile, the makers of Red Bull drinks filed as a trademark combination of blue and silver that appears on its cans."
Link to Original Source
Communications

Hushmail spills mail to Feds

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "A September court document reveals that Hushmail turned over emails to American authorities of targeted individuals, suspected in illegal steroid trafficking. Due to the fact that Hushmail saves their clients' emails encrypted using standard public key cryptography, they had to actively cache their customers' private keys and use them to send the Feds decrypted emails."
Democrats

How do you wean people off the car? 3

Submitted by Planetes
Planetes writes "The state of Washington and Seattle metro areas have inadvertently found a possible clue regarding how to begin weeding Americans off their addiction to the car. The answer? promote mass transit. Obvious you think? How about throwing in a twist: Close several lanes of I-5 Northbound (the main North-South artery between Seattle and points south) just south of downtown Seattle. Not for hours, but for weeks. The result: light rail ridership doubles along with most other forms of mass transit in the area. So, to repeat: how do you wean people off the automobile? Make it useless."
Displays

Lightweight display

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes "With the proliferation of wireless home networking devices, is there any effort underway to develop a lightweight display device without processing capabilities or HDDs? I can establish a home wireless connection of my DSL, I could purchase Slingbox or something similar to distribute video, but what I'd like is a feather-weight monitor that could receive signals from my box or DVD player and allow me to recline on the sofa and read /. ,watch a movie, read an online book etc. Even the lighest sub-notebook fails to be a workable solution, and the MP3/phone device displays are too small."

That feeling just came over me. -- Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler"